EigoPro 準1級 読解 — The Future of Money

When Bitcoin appeared in 2009, its creator promised something audacious: money that no government could print, freeze, or debase. The idea drew on an old libertarian dream of currency divorced from the state, but its novelty lay in the technology beneath it. A "blockchain"—a shared ledger maintained simultaneously by thousands of computers—allowed strangers to transact without trusting any bank or central authority. For its evangelists, this was nothing less than the reinvention of money itself. A decade and a half later, the verdict is decidedly mixed. Cryptocurrencies have indeed created vast fortunes and a sprawling financial ecosystem, yet they have largely failed at the one task money is supposed to perform: serving as a stable store of value. A currency whose price can halve in a week is a poor medium for paying wages or settling debts. Speculation, not commerce, drives most trading, and the energy consumed by some networks rivals that of small nations. Critics argue that what began as a tool for liberation has become chiefly a vehicle for gambling. Yet to dismiss the experiment entirely would be shortsighted. The underlying technology has pushed even cautious central banks to explore digital versions of their own currencies, and the notion that financial records need not sit in a single vulnerable institution has gained genuine traction. The likeliest future is neither the utopia the evangelists foresaw nor the bubble the sceptics predicted, but something more prosaic: a quiet absorption of cryptocurrency's better ideas into the very system it was designed to overthrow.

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この単元の問題を3問、解説つきで公開しています

準1級 · 読解 · 全5問

問 1

What is the main idea of the passage?

  • Governments invented Bitcoin to gain tighter control over their currencies.
  • Cryptocurrency has fallen short of its founding promise, yet its core ideas are quietly reshaping mainstream finance.
  • Blockchain technology has been proven worthless and abandoned by banks.
  • Cryptocurrency has completely replaced traditional money in most economies.
Phrase

a quiet absorption of cryptocurrency's better ideas into the very system it was designed to overthrow

準1級読解経済技術オピニオン主旨把握
⚡ひとことで

本文は「暗号通貨は理想に届かなかったが、その良い発想は既存金融に取り込まれつつある」という論旨。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Cryptocurrency has fallen short of its founding promise, yet its core ideas are quietly reshaping mainstream finance.」

正解

本文は (1) Bitcoin の壮大な約束→ (2) 価値の保存に失敗し投機の道具になった現実→ (3) しかし技術が中央銀行を動かし良い発想が既存システムに吸収されつつある、という構成。最終段の a quiet absorption ... into the very system it was designed to overthrow が結論であり、「創設時の約束には届かなかったが核心的な発想が主流金融を静かに作り変えている」が主旨。

  • 「Cryptocurrency has by now completely replaced traditional money across most of the world's economies.」

    = 従来の通貨を完全に置き換えた ━ 本文は『賃金支払いの媒体として不向き』と述べており、置換どころか主要な機能を果たせていない。

  • 「Blockchain technology has by now been proven entirely worthless and abandoned by every one of the banks.」

    = 無価値で銀行に見捨てられた ━ 正反対。慎重な中央銀行ですらデジタル通貨を検討するに至ったと述べている。

  • 「Governments themselves invented Bitcoin in order to gain far tighter control over their own currencies.」

    = 政府が Bitcoin を発明した ━ 本文は政府が印刷・凍結できない通貨と説明しており、国家から切り離された発想が起源。

▦Collocation
パターン意味例
fall short of ~~に届かないIt fell short of its promise.
store of value価値の保存手段a stable store of value
gain traction勢いを得るThe idea gained traction.
be designed to V~するために作られたthe system it was designed to overthrow
a sprawling ecosystem広がりを持つ生態系a sprawling financial ecosystem
❝例文

  • The reform fell short of its ambitious goals.

    その改革は野心的な目標に届かなかった。

  • Bitcoin was meant to be a stable store of value.

    Bitcoin は安定した価値の保存手段になるはずだった。

  • Their better ideas were absorbed into the mainstream.

    彼らの優れた発想は主流に吸収された。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

主旨設問は最終段の結論文を探すと速い。本文は neither A nor B, but C 型で『過度な賛美でも全否定でもなく現実的な C』が著者の立場。

問 2

According to the passage, what was novel about Bitcoin when it first appeared?

  • It guaranteed that its price would remain perfectly stable over time.
  • It was created jointly by several of the world's largest central banks.
  • It used a shared ledger that let strangers transact without trusting a bank or central authority.
  • It was the first currency ever issued without the backing of a government.
Phrase

a shared ledger ... allowed strangers to transact without trusting any bank or central authority

準1級読解経済技術オピニオン詳細把握
⚡ひとことで

Bitcoin の新規性は、銀行や中央権威を信頼せずに見知らぬ者同士が取引できる共有台帳 (blockchain) にあった。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「It used a shared ledger that let strangers transact without trusting a bank or central authority.」

正解

第1段で its novelty lay in the technology beneath it と前置きし、blockchain を a shared ledger maintained simultaneously by thousands of computers と定義、allowed strangers to transact without trusting any bank or central authority と説明する。この共有台帳の仕組みこそが新規性なので、これを言い換えた選択肢が正解。

  • 「It was the very first currency ever issued without the backing of any government at all.」

    = 政府の裏付けなしに発行された史上初の通貨 ━ 本文は novelty が『国家から切り離す発想 (an old libertarian dream)』ではなく『その下の技術』にあったと明言しており、史上初という記述もない。

  • 「guaranteed that its price would remain perfectly stable」

    = 価格が完全に安定すると保証した ━ 正反対。第2段で『一週間で半減しうる』と価格の不安定さを強調している。

  • 「It was created jointly by a number of the world's largest central banks together.」

    = 世界の大手中央銀行が共同で作った ━ 本文では中央銀行は後に検討を始めた側であり、創設者ではない。

▦Collocation
パターン意味例
lie in ~~にあるIts novelty lay in the technology.
a shared ledger共有台帳a shared ledger of transactions
transact without ~~なしに取引するtransact without trusting a bank
a central authority中央の権威without a central authority
maintained simultaneously同時に維持されるmaintained simultaneously by thousands of computers
❝例文

  • The system's novelty lay in its open ledger.

    その仕組みの新規性は公開台帳にあった。

  • They could transact without any central authority.

    彼らは中央の権威なしに取引できた。

  • The ledger is maintained by thousands of computers.

    その台帳は何千ものコンピューターによって維持される。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

detail 設問は本文の語を別語に置換した選択肢が正解になりやすい (shared ledger→shared ledger / without trusting→without trusting)。一方『史上初』『完全に安定』など本文にない強い限定語を含む肢は除外。

問 3

Why does the author say cryptocurrencies have failed as a store of value?

  • They can only be used to gamble and cannot be exchanged for goods at all.
  • They have generated no wealth or financial activity of any kind.
  • Their prices are so volatile that they make a poor medium for paying wages or settling debts.
  • Governments have made it illegal to hold them in most countries.
Phrase

A currency whose price can halve in a week is a poor medium for paying wages or settling debts.

準1級読解経済技術オピニオン詳細把握
⚡ひとことで

価格が一週間で半減しうるほど不安定なため、賃金支払いや債務決済の媒体として不向き。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Their prices are so volatile that they make a poor medium for paying wages or settling debts.」

正解

第2段で money is supposed to serve as a stable store of value と前提を置き、A currency whose price can halve in a week is a poor medium for paying wages or settling debts と続ける。価格の激しい変動 (volatility) こそが失敗の理由なので、これを言い換えた選択肢が正解。

  • 「They can only be used to gamble with and cannot be exchanged for any goods at all.」

    = 賭博にしか使えず商品と一切交換できない ━ 言い過ぎ。本文は『投機が取引の大半を占める』と述べるが、商品交換が一切不可能とは言っていない。

  • 「Governments have now made it illegal to hold them in most countries of the world.」

    = 政府が保有を違法化した ━ 本文に違法化の記述はない。問題は法ではなく価格の不安定さ。

  • 「They have so far generated no wealth and no financial activity of any kind at all.」

    = いかなる富も金融活動も生んでいない ━ 正反対。本文は『莫大な富と広大な金融生態系を生んだ』と認めている。

▦Collocation
パターン意味例
a store of value価値の保存手段a stable store of value
halve in a week一週間で半減するIts price can halve in a week.
a poor medium for ~~に不向きな媒体a poor medium for paying wages
settle a debt債務を決済するsettling debts
drive trading取引を牽引するSpeculation drives most trading.
❝例文

  • A volatile currency is a poor medium for trade.

    変動の激しい通貨は取引に不向きな媒体だ。

  • Its price can halve in a single week.

    その価格はわずか一週間で半減しうる。

  • Speculation, not commerce, drives most trading.

    取引の大半を牽引するのは商取引ではなく投機だ。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

理由設問は本文の論理 (supposed to be stable → but halves in a week → poor medium) を追う。『一切~ない』『完全に~』など極端な限定を加えた肢は本文の譲歩 (vast fortunes を認める) と矛盾しやすい。

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